I totally agree with you about the AI improvements. That is very important. The only reason I mentioned the controls is that it seemed people complained about them being too hard last year, when in reality they really were very good once you got the hang of them and they gave you alot more control over the game. So I'm afraid they'll simplify them just for the sake of making the game more easier for casual players.
But the AI definitely needs to be more......well, intelligent.